


BLOODLINE [SEQUEL TO VINEWOOD]

by simplyobrien



Series: THE VINEWOOD SERIES [2]
Category: Grand Theft Auto V
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Murder, Mystery, im not good with tags, michael and amanda make me soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-17 20:06:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 15
Words: 17,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29477421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/simplyobrien/pseuds/simplyobrien
Summary: When the lives of the entire city are put on the line, Amanda and Michael must figure out who’s so hellbent on killing them before its too late.
Relationships: Amanda De Santa/Michael De Santa
Series: THE VINEWOOD SERIES [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2165163
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	1. EXTRA PACKAGE

**_FIB Headquarters, Los Santos, January of 2015_ **

Amanda smiled as she looked around at her office, happy with the outcome over her efforts in the past few months. She had finally got her job as an FIB agent, and although she would be working closely with Michael's ex work partner, Dave Norton, she didn't think it would be all too bad.

"Uhh, package here for Amanda De Santa?" The receptionist said as she walked in, holding a small parcel in her left hand, and an FIB jacket in her right.

"That's me." Amanda smiled.

The receptionist gave a warm smile back and handed Amanda the items. She set the parcel down on her desk as she shrugged her FIB jacket on, liking how comfortable and right it felt on her skin.

She then directed her attention towards the package, which had a small note attached to it. Frowning, she plucked the tag with the message on and read it aloud, expecting it to be a welcoming gift, but the reality was much, much worse.

_"My dearest Amanda,_

_You've got a target on your back now, darling. I am always watching you, and I will come for you when the time is right."_

Her heart beat was fast in her chest, unsure of what to do with the package. She was too scared to open it, as the possibilities were endless as to what was inside, but she also knew if she just left it, it could cause more harm than good. So, as slowly and cautiously as possible, she opened the package.

It turned out to be another box, which looked as if it was professionally gift wrapped. Now more confused than before, she carefully untied the bow and lifted the lid, revealing the contents of the box - which was a two polaroid photos, and a bracelet she could've swore she'd seen before.

"What is this, some late fuckin' Christmas gift?" She muttered to herself.

Now convinced this was some sort of joke, she tipped the contents of the box angrily onto the table. The polaroid photos were still face down, but when Amanda picked them up and flipped them, she dropped both of the photos again in horror.

The first photo was of her and Michael, sound asleep in the Rockford Hills hotel after the Devin Weston situation. 

The second was clearly a lot older, with the back smeared in dust, but just as eerie nonetheless. It was a photo of her and a much younger Michael at their wedding, just before they were about to cut the cake.

The cogs in Amanda's head immediately started turning, and her first thought was to memorize the guest list from the wedding. However, upon further inspection, she could see that the photo was taken from outside the venue, which limited this mystery photographer to just about anyone.

Unsure of what else she could do - and slightly shaken up by the fact she's been watched for the past 25 years - she then focused on the bracelet. She picked it up with caution, almost like she was scared to break it, and played with it in her hands like it was going to help her figure out where she'd seen it before. After 5 minutes of this, she got frustrated, and did the only thing she could think to do.

Find Dave, someone trained in this kind of stuff, and tell him what's going on?

No.

Call Michael, obviously.

"Michael?"

"Hey Amanda, you enjoying yourself?"

"Uh yeah, can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

"At our wedding, do you remember seeing anything...out of the ordinary? Like, anything that just felt weird to you?"

Michael frowned, but thought back to the wedding anyway. The guest list was extremely small, limited just to Michael's friends at the time and a few people from Amanda's work, but he doesn't remember anything about the day that he disliked or made him feel uneasy, which made him all the more curious as to why Amanda was asking.

"No, why?"

"Uhh, no reason. Oh- before you go, do you remember a golden bracelet at all, uh, looks to be diamond encrusted?"

"Yeah, I can't believe you don't remember it, I got it for you for our 20th wedding anniversary."

"Well forgive me Michael but I wasn't exactly your best buddy in 2009."

"Right, that still doesn't explain why you're being so weird."

Amanda sighed, knowing this wasn't something she could hide from him. She gave him a small rundown on the items and the message on the tag, then sent him the photos because he didn't believe her.

"Are you being fuckin' serious? On your first day? Amanda its not worth it."

"I'm not one to run away from my problems like you Michael. Besides, whoever's behind this has been watching us for a lot longer than the moment I walked into this building."

They bickered about it for a while, but decided in the end that the best course of action was to keep this quiet until something else turned up. They said their goodbye's and Amanda proceeded with her day as normal, trying her best to ignore all the thoughts rushing around in her head regarding the box. Eventually, it got too much, and after a long day, she clocked out, leaving the office without the box or its contents.

When she arrived home, all was quiet except for the sound of an 'classic' Vinewood film playing in the room. Tracey had just started college, eager to pursue her dreams of being an actress, and Jimmy was helping Trevor set up a security system down at the strip club.

After changing into more comfortable clothes, she ventured to the kitchen in search of a joint or any form of weed she could find. Say what you want, but after feeling stress free for so many months just to have it all pile up again in one day, will leave anyone in a need for weed.

Getting comfy on the couch and lighting that joint was probably the highlight of Amanda's year, especially when she didn't have Michael talking at hundreds of miles an hour down her ear about whatever movie was on the TV, but that's probably because he was about 10 times more high than she was and probably didn't even know what was playing.

About 10 minutes passed in silence before Amanda's phone began to ring, making her jump. After seeing the contact name 'Dave Norton' though, she just rolled her eyes and ignored it, but after he proceeded to ring her 5 more times and blow her phone up with texts, she decided to answer just to get him to shut the fuck up.

"Oh, so you do know how to work a phone." His gruff voice came through the other end.

"You're older than me, Dave. What do you want?"

"Check the news."

Before Amanda could protest or tell him to shove it, the line went dead.

"Michael," she hissed, gently nudging him in the leg, "Michael!"

"Ahh!" He flailed.

"Put Weazel News on you docile bastard."

He threw his hands up in surrender but switched the channel anyway, half paying attention to what the news reporter was saying.

"2 people confirmed dead after a stabbing in Rockford Hills. A young couple were reportedly on their way back from some evening shopping when they were stabbed in an alleyway across from the Suburban store. But, this isn't just your regular 'husband was in a gang without his wife's knowledge and he owed some money' stabbing, this couple were found with multiple ritualistic looking stab wounds, almost like the criminal in question was some sort of witch."

The screen then showed a few drawings of the 'ritualistic' stab wounds, which Amanda did have to admit were really eerie and almost uncomfortable to look at. She took photos of them anyway, sure that Dave just wanted her to see this so that she knew what she was dealing with, and was about to tell Michael to change the channel back when they both saw something that grabbed their full attention.

In the plea for information in crimes like this, they usually show evidence or possessions that can help families recognise the victim. In this case, however, there was only one piece of evidence to show, and this particular piece of evidence was something that definitely didn't belong to the victim.

The bracelet that Michael got Amanda got their 20th anniversary. The same bracelet that Amanda had left in her office earlier that evening.


	2. DEADPOOL

_**FIB Headquarters, Los Santos, January of 2015** _

The next day, Amanda is at the FIB Headquarters with Michael before the sun's even fully up. She's impressed that Michael's body actually functions before 12pm, but she doesn't have much time to dwell on it. Now that she knows someone actually broke into her office last night to retrieve her bracelet to take it to a crime scene, she knew she had to say something to her bosses, Dave Norton and Steve Haines.

Now, you may be asking, how is Steve alive? Didn't Trevor clip him a few months ago? The short answer is yes. Slightly longer answer is that Steve miraculously survived, although now he can only speak a few short sentences before it hurts his head.

"Dave? We need to talk." She demands, bursting into his office with Michael lurking behind her. Dave and Steve both look up at the duo from their laptops, and with a sigh Dave pulls out two chairs for them both and insists they have a seat.

"I'm guessing this is about what I told you to watch last night?" He asked.

"Well, yes and no. I'm here because the piece of evidence they showed doesn't belong to the victim, it belongs to me."

Dave raised an eyebrow at her, prompting her to launch into the full story of everything that happened yesterday, from the message on the tag to the bracelet. Conveniently, when Amanda went to retrieve the box with the tag, it was gone, but luckily the photos had been left behind. Steve and Dave looked at them, and after analysing them for a good 2 minutes, Dave stood and began rummaging through his drawers.

"Yeah, so we do have a bit of a problem, actually," he muttered as he found the paper he was looking for, then sliding it to Amanda and Michael, "take a look at this."

On the paper, there were a list of names with a number at the side of them, ranging from 2 to 500. Steve finally joined in on the conversation and revealed that the smaller numbers represented millions, whilst the larger numbers only represented thousands. Amanda then asked why she was being shown this, and the next piece of information she was given shocked her to the core.

"It's basically an assassination list. Camille and Sean who were killed last night were worth $200,000, so in the next few days we just need to keep an eye on the stock markets and the killer could probably be tracked from there."

"But where's the money coming from?" Michael asked.

"At the crime scene last night there was a laptop with some sort of cryptic messaging thing open on it, with the texts being between someone calling themselves ' _The Benefactor_ ' and the other user just down as ' _guest1_ '. The messages consisted of this benefactor guy asking for visual confirmation of the bodies, and then saying that he had transferred the money to the assassins account." Dave replied as he sat back down.

"Sooo we're gonna have half the city running around assassinating people for a bit of money? Who's even this rich anyway?" 

"Well," Dave said, "you might wanna check LifeInvader."

Michael frowned but opened LifeInvader anyway, and after a few minutes of scrolling he finally saw what Dave meant. Lester was going absolutely mad about his bank account being hacked, and being unable to access it because of a number of walls the hacker put up.

Whoever was doing this was smart.

"But what's the end game?"

"Uhh, Michael, take a look at this." Amanda gawked as she showed Michael another piece of paper, which just had both of their names in big bold letters and '25' at the side.

"We're worth 25 thousand? I'm kinda disappointed." Michael said.

"25 _million_ , slick." Steve said, leaning back in his seat and crossing his legs.

Later on that day, after being dismissed with promises of catching the benefactor, Michael and Amanda headed home. They were slightly on edge, knowing that just about anyone in the city had access to this list and therefore they could be killed at any moment. However, Amanda knew that her and Michael were priced so highly for a reason, and she doubted that some amateur would try coming for her without expecting to die before they got to the front door.

As soon as they got home, Amanda made a beeline for the bathroom, locking the door behind her. She tore the cabinet apart looking for her emergency supply of pregnancy tests, and did a little victory dance when she found them.

It's probably a false alarm - she hopes so anyway - but she's missed her period this month and has done nothing but throw up the past few days. She tells herself its the nerves of a new job and the threat to her life as she pees on the small stick, but like when she found out she was pregnant with Tracey, she already had a feeling what that test was going to say.

After the 5 minute waiting time is up, she wastes no time in looking at the test, and she's unsure if she should be delighted or horrified in the fact that she is indeed pregnant. But, she knew she didn't really have a choice in how to feel with everything that was going on right now, so with a nervous huff she went downstairs to break the news to her husband.

He was sat comfortably on the sofa, deeply engrossed in a film with a joint in his hand. As soon as he heard Amanda walk in, he moved his arms to rest at the back of the sofa so she could cozy up to him, an invitation that she gladly accepted.

They stayed like this for a while, Amanda head leaned on Michael's shoulder while his free hand rested on her ass, occasionally rubbing his thumb up and down comfortingly. She wished they could stay like this forever, but life was never that easy and she knew she had to tell Michael about the pregnancy at some point.

"Michael?"

He hummed in response, his free hand now skimming up to her waist.

"I need to tell you something."

"Yeah?"

She lifted her head slightly to look him in his brilliant blue eyes, "I'm pregnant."

Michael's half shut eyes flew open.

"You're _what_?"

Amanda gave him a look.

"Of course you fuckin' are, such convenient timing," he sighed, "is it even mine?"

Amanda suddenly went from calm to as furious as the force of a category five hurricane. She fully pulled herself away from him and looked at him with such anger that Michael felt something inside him wither.

"Are you fucking jokin' me? Of course it's yours, you ass! I kept my word."

"Alright, alright!" Michael threw his hands up defensively, "I believe you."

"Good," Amanda said as she leaned back into Michael, "what do we do?"

"Dunno, what do you wanna do?" Michael asked, letting his free hand fall back to her waist.

"I'm not sure yet." She said with a sigh. Her husband just gave a small nod and kissed her head gently, almost like he was scared to break her. 

Of course, they probably should make a decision about what to do before this benefactor sends someone for them, but just for tonight, they wanted to pretend it didn't matter.

The new life they had created was a matter that could wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo...surprise?
> 
> Yeah, so I decided a pregnancy could be a good twist to this story. Not really much more explaining to do than that, except it will become a very important matter later on.
> 
> Gender predictions?
> 
> Thankyou for reading 
> 
> -Phoenix, the worst author's note writer ever.


	3. MIGRAINE

**_Vinewood, Los Santos, January of 2015_ **

Later the next day, Amanda was just locking up her office when all the electricity in the building cut out. She frowned, knowing full well the funding wasn't poor enough for them to loose electricity, and was immediately on edge. One of her hands slid into her jacket pocket to find a small knife, whilst the other rested on her stomach.

"Hello?" She called out.

Nothing.

Amanda sighed and walked cautiously down the hallway, making sure to check behind her every few seconds. Eventually, she made it to the lift that went to the bottom floor, but knew that she couldn't actually use it, and turned to the fire exit stairs. However, just as she began her descent, she spotted a shadow coming upwards.

She froze, gripping the knife in her pocket as she slid behind a wall, listening to the steps get closer and closer. After what felt like an eternity, the steps stopped, and Amanda lunged out, only to be met with a very startled Steve Haines.

"Huh?"

"Amanda, what a pleasure," Steve said, "I thought your shift already ended?"

"Yeah, well I was having a little trouble leaving because of the lack of lights." Amanda replied, pointing up towards the ceiling.

"Oh yeah, it should be back on- ah!" He grimaced, clutching the back of his head. Amanda just raised an eyebrow at him, not completely sympathetic to his limited speech problem. If he didn't cause issues, Trevor would've never tried to kill him in the first place.

Well, he probably would've, but that's just Trevor.

"Right, I'm going." Amanda said, plastering on a fake smile and giving a little wave as she carried on down the stairs.

She hurried out of the building a little faster than she'd like to admit, practically jogging to the car and letting out a little sigh of relief when she slammed the door shut. She pulled out of the staff car pack and dialled Michael's number, who picked up in the first two rings.

"Hey," She said softly, "everything good on your end?"

"Yeah, haven't seen or spoke to anyone all day apart from Lester. What about you?"

"Well, electricity cut out as I was leaving, and then Steve scared the shit out of me."

"I still don't like you working with him."

"I know, but there's nothing I can do."

They chatted a bit more on the phone before it went quiet as Amanda focused on the road, making sure to be as careful as possible and keep her eyes peeled for anyone looking suspicious.

She swears the car came out of nowhere.

Without warning, a car rammed into the side of hers, sending her spinning down the road before she eventually crashed into the wall of Ponsonbys. Her head bounced off the dashboard and she was rendered unconscious almost immediately, and all Michael could do was scream down the phone until the line cut out completely.

The first thing Amanda saw when she opened her eyes was her husband, his eyes bleary with tears and face as pale as a ghost.

"What...what happened?" She groaned, shifting her weight to her arms so she could sit up. Before she even had chance to breathe properly, Michael engulfed her in a hug, soft sobs shaking his body whilst Amanda rubbed his back soothingly.

"I didn't think you were gonna wake up, Mandy." Michael sniffled as he pulled away and sat back down in his seat, softly wrapping Amanda hand in his.

"I don't remember anything, Michael, after I got hit it's all just blank in my mind."

"Well I managed to find you before your almost-killer had a chance to recover from their injuries. I did try to catch them after I made sure you were okay but they took off." He said sadly.

Suddenly, Amanda shot upwards, panic written all over her face as she said "Michael, the baby!"

"Relax, I made the doctor check about four times. The baby's okay."

"Are you sure?"

Michael nodded, "I'm guessing that means you've made your mind up about what you wanna do."

"My mind was made up before I even left the bathroom, I just didn't want you to feel pressured."

"If you're up to it, so am I."

Amanda nodded and sunk back down into the bed, relishing in Michael's company for a few hours before he told her he had to leave to pick up Jimmy and Tracey.

"Tracey's at college isn't she?"

"She flew back as soon as she heard about the crash, said she's gonna stay the weekend."

Amanda smiled and kissed Michael's cheek before he left, watching sadly as he disappeared down the hallway. She knew she was safe at the hospital, but she couldn't help but feel nervous as she knew that as soon as he was out of here, Michael was in danger.

About an hour later, a doctor came in and briefed her on her injuries, telling her that she had a concussion but apart from that it was just bumps and bruises, and the baby was thankfully unharmed. She was prescribed a few tablets for her head and was told that if everything went well, she would be discharged the next day.

Amanda waited on Michael coming back with the kids, but after a while she assumed he'd just passed out on the sofa after the stress of the day, something she could completely understand. Actually, she was just about to get some sleep herself, but as she turned the lamp off the door to her room creaked open.

"For fucks sake, if you're gonna kill me just get it over with."

"Ah! So you _are_ hiding something from me." None other than Trevor Philips said as he strode into the room, taking a seat in the same place Michael did just a few hours ago.

"Trevor? The fuck do you want?"

"No need to be hostile, _sweetheart_ , we have much to discuss."

Amanda just groaned, knowing she was going to be in for one hell of a long night.


	4. TREVOR PHILIPS

**_Strawberry, Los Santos, January of 2015_ **

"Don't be so hostile, _sweetheart_ , we have much to discuss."

Amanda huffed in annoyance and sat back up, trying her absolute best not to let fear show on her face. Once upon a time her and Trevor were best friends, thick as thieves, but after the incident of 1995, something switched in his head and Amanda has made avoiding him a priority ever since.

"What do you want?"

"I want answers, Mandy, I know you and Mikey are hiding something." He said, shuffling his chair closer to Amanda's bed.

"Well what do you wanna know? I can't give you the answers if you're not giving me the questions."

"That list that's been going around. I know what it's all about, but I wanna know why you and Michael are priced so highly, and I'm not even on the list at all." He replied with a hint of jealousy in his voice. Why is he jealous of not having a price on his head?

"I wish I knew, but I don't. I'll see if Dave can-"

"Dave, Dave and fucking _Dave_. God, I wish I could've killed him when I had the chance."

"He's my boss." She muttered.

"Oh, so that's how it is huh? Me and Mikey spent nearly 2 years tryna get away from these assholes and you join forces with them? What is this? You know what, you're just as sneaky as Michael. You two deserve eachother."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" She asked, her voice raised as she fully sat up and rested a hand on her stomach.

"I know you're doing this so that in the end you can kill Michael and get his money. You're a gold-digging filthy piece of-"

"Trevor! _Enough_!" Amanda shouted.

"Fine," he grumbled as he slumped back down in his seat, "there's something else you're keeping, Amanda. I can see it in your eyes."

"Not hiding anything, T, you just aren't asking the right questions."

Trevor groaned and stuck two fingers up at her before running his hand through his hair, well, what was left of it. He looked at Amanda, squinting his eyes at her like he was trying to read her, then his eyes drifted down to her hand which was holding her stomach, almost as if she was protecting it.

Then it clicked.

"Hold on, hold on. You're pregnant?" He gawked.

Amanda nodded.

"Well congratulations. You know how much Uncle T loves himself a new niece or nephew." He said with a wink as he stood up to leave.

But before he could even take a step, Amanda gripped Trevor's arm with a strength not even she knew she had, and pulled him close up until her face was pressed against his ear.

"If I find out this little assassin list has something to do with you and something happens to my baby because of it, so God help me Trevor I will tear your head off your fucking shoulders." She sneered, finally letting go of his arm. He didn't say anything, just chuckled as he rubbed the place on his arm where Amanda had gripped him, and headed for the door. However, just before he left, he had one more thing to say.

"And that- that _fire_ ," He said as he pointed at her, "is why I liked you, _darling_."

_It was March of 1995, and Amanda and Trevor had just finished up at a liquor store. They burst into a fit of giggles as they got into Amanda's car, and laughed even harder all the way back to Amanda and Michael's apartment. They were crying, faces red as they unlocked the door and burst in, startling a very tired Michael who was just trying to nap on the sofa._

_With Tracey at school and James at day care, Michael finally had a few hours to himself whilst Amanda went 'out'. He noticed that she had started a habit of leaving without saying where she was going or who she was with, only to turn up high as a kite with Trevor a few hours later._

_They stumbled into the room, falling onto the cramped couch as they let all the alcohol bottles they'd stolen fall to the floor, and it was at this moment Michael was grateful for carpet and a low sofa or otherwise that alcohol would've gone everywhere. Eventually, they calmed down, and were just about to pop open a bottle of Budweiser when Michael cleared his throat._

_"Trevor, you left your phone here last night, your brother called about 50 times."_

_"Aw shit, see **Mandy** , now you're gettin' me in trouble!" He exclaimed, trying his best to hide his laughter._

_"Well I'm sorry **T** , you decided to come with me." She giggled._

_"You said you were gonna chop my fingers off and feed them to Tracey for dinner if I didn't!"_

_Michael rolled his eyes and slumped back down on the sofa, jealousy flowing through his veins. At this point, he didn't care if he had to kill Trevor himself, no-one got to make Amanda laugh like that except him. He was going to do something about this._

_The next day, Michael waited until he heard Amanda leave before he reached for Trevor's phone - which he had once again left. He sat and thought for a moment, asking himself if he was really going to be this petty over his wife and best friend, then he turned on Trevor's phone before he had a chance to change his mind._

_"Hey George. Meet me behind the cemetery, I've got something for you - Trevor."_

_Shoving on his coat and shoes, he left the house to meet George before Trevor and Amanda came home._

_About an hour later, Michael sat in his car and ducked as he watched George pull up, a grin on his face as he got out of the car. Michael felt extremely bad for what he was about to do, but he felt as if he had no other choice. If the only way to win his wife back was to make Trevor hate her, then so be it._

_Michael got out of the car and walked up to George, who looked as smiley as always. They talked for a few minutes, had a catch-up on life and all the job's Michael had taken, before George finally started thinking something was off and eyed him suspiciously._

_"It wasn't Trevor who text me, was it?"_

_"No," Michael said with a wry smile as he pulled out his gun, "I'm sorry for this, George, I really just want my wife back."_

_George couldn't even protest before Michael pulled the trigger, a bullet embedding itself in his head as he dropped to the floor. Michael left before anyone in the area could see the body, and headed home to where he was sure Trevor and Amanda were already waiting._

_As he walked through the door, he could already hear shouting. Trevor was screaming at Amanda, who just sat there with a sad look on her face as she took Trevor's abuse._

_"Hey! What the fuck's going on?" Michael shouted as he entered the room._

_"You, you sly motherfucker," Trevor stalked up to Michael and jabbed a finger in his chest, "you better not have had something to do with this!"_

_"The fuck are you talking about?"_

_"My fucking **BROTHER** , Michael! He's fucking dead! And this probably wouldn't have happened if your whore of a wife didn't have me wrapped around her fucking finger! I loved **you** , you bitch!" He roared, tears streaming down his face._

_All of their faces dropped at the same time._

_"Get out." Michael sneered. Trevor didn't say another word, just glared at Amanda and made a cutting motion across his neck to Amanda as he left the room. Neither of them said a word as Amanda stood up and wrapped her arms around Michael, letting him kiss her forehead as a single tear slipped down her cheek._

_"I'm sorry, Amanda. I'm so, so sorry."_

_"It's not your fault darlin'."_

_Oh, Michael thought, if only she knew._


	5. BIG NEWS

**_Vinewood, Los Santos, February of 2015_ **

"How are you feelin'?"

It was the next day, and Amanda had just been discharged from hospital. Despite how happy she was to be going back home, Trevor's visit yesterday had given her a lot to think about, and she was distant. Michael noticed this but didn't want to push her, so he settled on listening to the radio until she was ready to talk.

"Michael?" She said quietly, breaking the silence.

"Hmm?"

"Remember Trevor's brother, George?"

"Yeah..." He trailed off, scratching the back of his head nervously as they waited for the traffic light to turn green.

"What do you think happened to him?"

"No idea Mandy."

Amanda turned her head to look at him and peered into his eyes. She could see he was nervous and his face wore a guilty look.

"You're lying." She said bluntly, turning her head back towards the road when the lights went green.

"What? I'm not-"

"Michael," She cut him off, "I've been with you for 25 years. Trust me, I know when you're lying, you're like an open book."

"Right." He mumbled.

"Look, you don't have to tell me what happened, I can make a pretty good guess. I just wanna know why."

"Because he was tryna take you away from me, Amanda! _Shit_ , there was nothin' else I could do."

She was quiet for a moment, trying to process what she'd just been told. She ran her hands through her hair then went through her contacts on her phone, and Michael's heart skipped a beat when he heard the phone ringing.

" _Amandaaaa_!" Trevor's voice came through the phone, "didn't think you were gonna speak to me after your little threat yesterday."

Michael raised an eyebrow.

"Shut up," She said, "Michael, tell Trevor what you just told me."

Michael pulled up to the house and shut the car off, but made no move to get out. He could hear Trevor humming on the other end of the phone, probably forgetting he was on the phone in the first place, making Michael question if Trevor would actually be bothered to hear what he had to say.

"Michael." Amanda said.

"Okay, okay. Trevor, I gotta tell you somethin'...about George."

There was another moment of silence before Trevor spoke.

"What?"

"I...I killed him. But fuck just- just hear me out, okay? I was scared that you were gonna take Mandy away from me and I knew that if you just had a reason to hate her-"

Trevor put the phone down before Michael could carry on.

Amanda got out of the car without another word, with Michael right on her tail. They opened the door to Tracey and Jimmy sat on the stairs, the worried expressions on their faces gone as soon as Amanda walked through. They hugged her tightly for a few minutes before she pulled back, her tone of voice clearly showing she was furious but trying to put on a brave face for her children.

"Uhh, do you mind going upstairs for a minute? I need to talk about something with your father."

The kids rushed upstairs without protest, then Amanda turned to Michael with such disappointment in her eyes it reminded him of his father. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him into the room, shoving him down on the couch before she sat beside him.

"I'm not angry Michael, I'm just..."

"Disappointed, I know."

"How?"

"Just because you spent the past 10 years hating me doesn't mean I don't know you inside out."

"Right."

Amanda sighed and sat back, slowly reaching for Michael's hand. He accepted her touch like he was desperate, choosing to press his fingers into hers and play with her hand like it was the most fascinating thing he had seen in his life. After about 30 seconds of this, Amanda cleared her throat.

"How do we tell the kids?"

"Tell 'em what?"

"That I'm pregnant?"

"Oh yeah, uhhh..." He trailed off, completely distracted with Amanda's hand. He was touching it like he'd never seen it before, and all Amanda could do was raise her eyebrow at him but made no move to pull away, knowing she was no match for his grip.

A few hours later, Amanda was startled awake by Tracey kicking her in the legs. Turns out, her and Michael had both passed out on the couch after they were supposed to tell the kids the big news, and Amanda was even more surprised to find out that she was completely cozy in between _her husbands legs_!

"Mom, that's gross." Tracey grimaced as she stepped away from them both.

"Sorry sweetie, I don't even remember going to sleep." Amanda said honestly, putting all her weight into her hands so she could push herself upwards. A minute later, Michael groaned as he woke up, not nearly as confused as Amanda was.

"Why'd you move? You were keeping me warm- oh hey Tracey." He said nervously as he also sat up.

"Anyway," Tracey said, "can we get takeout? I'm hungry."

"Hold that thought...JIMMY!" Amanda shouted at the top of her lungs. Jimmy padded down the stairs as fast as he could and slumped straight down on the opposite end of the sofa, with Tracey joining him in a more gentle manner.

"Wassup?" Jimmy asked.

"We have something we need to tell you both." Michael said quietly.

"You're actually gonna give me some money?"

"I can buy the new COD game?"

"You're getting a divorce?"

"God no, don't be ridiculous," Michael said, "go on Amanda, you tell 'em."

Amanda gave him a side eye before finally turning to the kids, "I'm pregnant."

"You're _what_?" They both said at the same time, having the exact same reaction as Michael when he found out.

"Oh kids," She chuckled, "you are more like your father than you'll ever know."

A while later, Michael had gone out to the store to find food that would satisfy Amanda's cravings when there was a knock at the door. Amanda huffed as she stood up, stroking her ever so small bump whilst she walked to the door.

Who she didn't expect when she opened it, was Trevor.

"Trevor," she said with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, "come in."

He brushed past her without a word, heading straight for the couch. Amanda followed and sat down carefully, like she was scared to break herself, unlike Trevor who just slumped down and kicked his feet up.

"I didn't hate you just because of George's death." He said quietly.

The sadness in his voice broke Amanda's heart.

"Then why?" She asked, staring at the floor.

"Because I wanted what I knew I couldn't have." He answered before raising his head to look at her.

"It didn't matter to me, Trevor, you know that."

"It mattered to _me_. You're my best friends wife and even liking you felt like I was betraying him, so I pushed you away. George's death was just an excuse."

Amanda nodded slowly, fighting the tears back that welled up in her eyes. Trevor stood up and ruffled Amanda's hair, which Amanda took as an 'I'm sorry for being a prick to you for 20 years', and left without another word.

Not even 2 minutes later, Michael came in.

"Hey," he said as he handed her a bar of chocolate, "you okay?"

Amanda hummed and set the chocolate bar on the floor, and much to Michael's surprise she practically threw herself at him. She tackled him so that he was laying on the sofa and laid her head on his chest, listening to the sound of his heart beat and letting out a sigh of content.

"Are you _sure_ you're okay?" He laughed, stroking Amanda's hair.

"Yeah, just wanted to cuddle you." She mumbled.

If both of them knew what was to come, they might've cuddled on that sofa without a care in the world for a bit longer.


	6. SAVIOUR

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: MENTIONS OF RAPE AND ABUSE

**_Midwestern trailer park, January of 1991_ **

_Just before Michael and Amanda's wedding, the girl decided to head back to the trailer park to pick up the last of her things. She had decided to take Michael with her, and with her dad being the only one home, she didn't know which way it was gonna go._

_She knew how her parents viewed Michael: The man who stole their money making machine. Amanda was pimped out at such a young age for her parents gain, so when Michael gave her the opportunity to leave, she took it. Of course, she felt bad for leaving her brother, Steven, behind with those monsters, but he didn't receive nearly half the abuse Amanda got over the_ _years_.

_One time, she was raped by her father and her mother just stood and watched. Steven was just meters away, watching one of those Vinewood movies, clueless as to what was happening in his sisters room. She always wondered why her parents treated her like this, used her to make their money and for their own pleasure and left her to bleed when they were finished._

_Michael saved her in ways he would never know._

Of course, she could never bring herself to tell him. As she watched her husband sleep peacefully, his head nestled in her chest, she thought about how much it would break his heart to learn of the horrors Amanda went through. No, she thought, he didn't deserve to carry that burden with her, and she would never force it upon him.

_"Hey, you ready to go in? You look upset." Michael said, snapping her out of her thoughts_.

_She hummed in response and got out of the car, the same one Michael took her away in that night. They walked silently towards the trailer, but just before she knocked, she hesitated. Michael watched the stone cold expression she usually wore on her face turn fearful, and it was then he questioned just what made her hate her parents so much_.

_It was one of the things they related to each other with. Michael's father hated him because he viewed him as a disappointment - he would even sometimes hit him if he was drunk enough - whilst his mother just took an unspeakable amount of drugs and pretended it never happened. He confided in Amanda with this information one night whilst they were high, and she told him that her parents were similar with her, but never explained any further. Now, he thought as he watched her eyes glisten with tears, he wished her would've pushed her on it._

_Any trouble of hers were a trouble of his._

_"We don't have to do this if you don't want to." He whispered softly, reaching for her hand. She grasped it tightly and nodded her head, taking one last look at the trailer before turning to Michael._

_They got in the car and Amanda put her seatbelt on, still gripping Michael's hand tightly. He tried to shake it off so he could drive, but she refused to let go._

_It was at the point he noticed she was crying._

_"What's wrong?" He asked softly._

_"I don't wanna talk about it," she shook her head, "can we go before he comes out?"_

_"Yeah, sure."_

_He kissed her hand gently, something she smiled at, before letting his hand go so he could drive._

_They never looked back._

**_Vinewood, Los Santos, February of 2015_ **

"Shit, what time is it?" Michael asked as he stirred.

"You went to sleep like an hour ago, it's 2am." Amanda said softly.

Amanda was never quiet unless she was upset, Michael thought as he lifted his head off her chest to look at her.

He was right. She looked heartbroken.

Michael fully sat up and crawled over to the side of his wife, lifting an arm up so she could cozy up to him. She did, burying her face in his shoulder as a series of quiet sobs racked her body. Michael said nothing, just rubbed her arm soothingly and whispered sweet nothings in her ear until she finally calmed down.

"You gonna tell me what's upset you so much or am I gonna have to pin it down to a mood swing?" Michael asked with a light chuckle.

"I don't wanna talk about it." She said.

_I don't wanna talk about it._

The words echoed in Michael's head like a chorus. The only thing Amanda never wanted to talk to him about was her father.

"Is this about your dad?"

"I guess you do know me too well," she mumbled, "I have to tell you something."

"You could tell me you started an apocalypse and I would still follow you blindly. Seriously, Amanda, you can tell me anything."

"You might not look at me the same afterwards."

"How much are ya willin' to bet on that?"

Amanda decided not to waste any more time as she delved into the horrors of her childhood, from being forced into the job as a stripper, right up until the day Michael saved her. Her husband just listened, his facial expression a mixture of sympathy and anger, until she finally finished with the story of how she was raped and her mother watched.

"You don't have to say anything," she said as a tear fell from her eye, "I know it's a lot to take in."

"Hey," Michael said as he turned to her, rubbing her cheek with his thumb, "what'd I always tell ya? You're too beautiful to cry."

"I love you." She blurted.

"I know," he said as he pulled Amanda's head back onto his shoulder, "I hope I never meet him."

"Why? You wanna add him to the ever-growing pile of bodies?" She grinned, quirking her brows at him.

"Fuckin' _A_." He smiled back.

Michael was gonna kill Amanda's dad if it was the last thing he did, and hell, if he was lucky, she might even help.

Now that's a sight he'd _love_ to see.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N
> 
> Bit of a short chapter today but I feel like Amanda's backstory was needed for what's to come. Trust me, it will make a lot more sense later on.
> 
> And don't worry, the action will be back next chapter, just wait and see. :)
> 
> Thanks for reading,
> 
> -Phoenix.


	7. TO LOVE OR TO LOSE

_**Vinewood, Los Santos, February of 2015** _

"I'll see if I can track his phone."

A few days after Amanda's confession, she was now sitting at the kitchen island whilst Michael paced up and down the kitchen, clearly frustrated. Franklin had completely dropped off the grid, and whilst Lamar just thought he was busy, Michael knew something was up. So, he did what any logical person would do and phone the guy who just had his bank account robbed - because he was the safest person to go to for shit like this.

A new list had been released on the streets today, and whilst Michael's price had stayed the same, Amanda's almost doubled; apparently being pregnant means you're worth twice the value. Trevor and Franklin were also on the list, with Franklin being worth just 500k and Trevor being worth 2 million.

After he put the phone down, Michael sat across from Amanda and run a hand through his short hair. He was tired, that much was obvious, having been up since 7am and dealing with the stress of Franklin going mis-

"Oh my God Michael I'm going to be sick."

Amanda barely made it to the sink before she was spewing her guts up, clutching her stomach tightly. Michael was by her side at the speed of light, gently brushing her hair behind her and holding it in place so she wouldn't get any vomit in her hair. 

After the last of it, she finally lifted her head up and breathed deeply, her hands trembling and skin pale. She hadn't felt sickness like that since Jimmy, and for the first time she actually thought about the gender of the baby.

"What do you think it's gonna be, boy or girl?" Michael said.

"What are you, a fuckin' mind reader?" Amanda replied as she tied her hair in a low ponytail and sat back at the island.

Michael chuckled and rolled his eyes before sitting back across from her, aimlessly flicking through his phone. They stayed like this for a while, a blissful silence washing over the house as any previous tension was washed away. But, it should be commonly known by now that things could never go well for Michael, and this was proven when he got that fateful phone call.

"We've uh, just found Franklin...or what's left of him."

This sent Michael into a fit of rage, fuming about the loss of his companion and just how awful this situation was altogether. Amanda did the best she could to comfort him, but she knew all to well that when her husband was angry, he much preferred to be left alone.

By the time 4pm rolled around, Amanda was just getting ready for work, when Michael came storming into their room, his eyes lit with a fire that made Amanda want to shrivel up and hide. She tried her best not to show this though, instead just choosing to frown at him as she shrugged on her FIB jacket and picked up her car keys, but when she moved to exit the room, Michael blocked the door.

"What's your problem?"

"You think I'm gonna fuckin' let you go out there when one of my best friends just got _dismembered_ and left for dead? You're worth nearly 10x what he was, you really think that some prick ain't waiting right outside those gates with a gun ready to kill you and my fucking child?"

"Yeah Michael I'm worth this much for a reason," she spat, "because I'm harder to kill."

"No-one's untouchable, Amanda."

"No but I cut it pretty damn close." She muttered, shoving past Michael and running down the stairs.

"God damn it just listen to me!" Michael shouted as he followed her.

"No!" She yelled back, "if you're gonna be like this then maybe I'll have to hide out somewhere else _without_ you. I won't live my entire life in fear, not like you."

He stood on the stairs for a moment and just stared blankly at her, making no move to stop her as she opened the front door. But, when Amanda felt a strong grip on her shoulder forcing her to swivel around and look her husband directly in the eyes, she knew he wasn't finished.

"I can't lose you too!" He said, his voice breaking at the last word.

"Why? Look at me. _Why_?" She asked, her voice barely above a whisper as she felt tears prick at her eyes.

"You know why. I _need_ you. You win so...don't leave. _Please_ stay with me."

And god damn it if Amanda hadn't seen Michael cry she definitely had now. He was drunk, she could tell by how he stood, but he wasn't so drunk that he'd pass out if you jabbed him in the shoulder. He was at the stage of drunk where if you open your mouth, the words just don't stop spilling out. Tears fell down his face as he looked at her, his eyes begging her to just stay with him, even if it was just while he fell to sleep. Amanda silently agreed, tossing an arm around his shoulders and guiding him to their room.

She shot a quick text to Dave and told him she'd be at work a bit later than expected but didn't even get to send it before Michael was pulling her beside him. He pushed her lightly onto her side and pressed himself behind her, wrapping an arm lazily around her waist as his breathing became more shallow.

Amanda waited, waited and waited some more. She entertained herself with stroking Michael's hand with her thumb for what felt like years before he started snoring, a sure sign that he had fallen to sleep. As cautiously as she could, she lifted Michael's arm so she could get up, something he grunted at but made no move to stop. Amanda stood and turned behind her to check that he was still asleep, and felt something in her heart soften when she saw his hand now on her pillow, gripping it tightly.

_50+ missed calls from Dave Norton._

_30 unread texts from Dave Norton._

_Dave: Amanda, we need to talk._

_Dave: Your house isn't safe, you need to leave._

_Dave: Right now._

_Dave: Amanda! I thought you knew how to work a phone. Get out of the house!_

_Dave: We detected a bomb planted in the closet - it's minor but if you're in your room it's going to kill you._

_Dave: AMANDA! GO!_

_Dave: There's a 5 minute timer on it. (Delivered 2 minutes ago.)_

And before she even had time to think about what was happening, the little beeping sound coming from her closet told her she didn't have much time left.


	8. BLOW

**_Vinewood, Los Santos, April of 2015_ **

"Michael, get _up_!"

Amanda didn't even fully register the beeping before she launched herself on Michael, softly punching him in the sides to wake him up. He opened his eyes and let out a groan, still feeling the effects of the alcohol, before he pulled the sheets back over him an attempt to go back to sleep.

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

"Michael!" She hissed, but he didn't respond. Knowing she didn't have time to slowly wake him up and tell him what was happening, she shoved him hard enough that he would roll off the bed.

"Ah!" He shouted, "the fuck are you doin'?"

"Get up! There's a fucking bomb in the closet!" She replied, grabbing his arm and pulling him to his feet.

"What? How-"

"We don't have time for 'how's' Michael we need to go."

Michael nodded and placed his hand on the small of Amanda's back, lightly pushing her forward as they walked. Thankfully, the kids had left again last night, with Tracey going back to college and Jimmy at a friends, they didn't have to deal with what would be the dire consequences of a bomb in their house.

Once the couple reached the bottom of the stairs, there was the faint sound of beeping again. Michael didn't hesitate in throwing Amanda over his shoulder and carrying her outside, setting her down on her feet when they got to the large gate at the entrance of their house. Dave and Steve were already outside in the former's car, watching the house intently.

"Ah, Michael, what a pleasure." Dave said with a not-at-all fake smile as he got out of the car.

"Yeah I'd say the same if my house wasn't about to fucking blow up and I had no idea why." Michael replied.

Amanda tuned out of the conversation as Dave explained what was happening and turned her head to Steve who was still in the car, rapidly tapping away at his phone. He had a look of hard concentration on his face, glancing up every few seconds to look at the house before going back to tapping his phone.

Suspicious? Yes. Was she going to say anything? No.

"Oh my god Michael, what about all the stuff I got for the baby?" Amanda said, her panic rising a lot more than it already was.

"We can always replace it." Michael said softly.

"No no no, there was a stuffed rabbit, it was mine when I was a kid, I _need_ it."

"It's not worth risking your life for a stuffed rabbit. It's okay, really."

"No it's not okay, I'm going for it."

"I don't think s-"

Amanda didn't even let him finish his sentence before she stormed back up to the house, practically launching herself up the stairs as she knew she really didn't have that much time left.

Maybe 30 seconds at a push?

She could faintly hear her husband shouting her outside, but making no move to come in to get her. Rolling her eyes, she turned what was going to be the baby's bedroom upside down looking for the stuffed rabbit until she finally found it beneath some other stuffed toys in the crib.

_Beep. Beep. Beeeeeeeeeep._

Her eyes widened in panic before she was running towards the staircase, with Michael's shouting becoming louder and louder. As she reached the bottom, there was another loud, drawn out beep, and she just managed to get out of the front door before a loud **_BANG_** and a flash of orange sent her flying down the driveway, stuffed animal still clutched tightly in her hand. Michael barely caught her in his arms, saving in her from what would've been a painful and maybe fateful fall, and the blood coming out of Amanda's ears told him that maybe the fateful part wasn't such a far stretch.

The house wasn't completely obliterated, but there was a good chunk missing. The balcony was at the other side of the street, all the walls that sealed their rooms were completely blown off and the entire building was charred black. Debris was flung everywhere, with Michael ducking bricks left and right while a very dazed Amanda groaned in his arms. He readjusted her so he was holding her bridal style, but instead of burying her head in his chest like she usually would, she let her head dangle off his arm as another pained groan left her lips.

"Michael I-" She mumbled, "it hurts."

She watched Michael's mouth move, looked like he was trying to reassure her, but all she could hear was ringing. There was a lot of screaming from the neighbours, she could hear that much, and the faint yelling of Steve telling someone to call an ambulance. Amanda vigorously shook her head no and looked at Michael with pleading eyes, not wanting to be trapped in the vulnerability of a hospital bed ever again.

"No," she whispered, "no hospital."

Her eyes drooped shut, stuffed animal suffering in the tight grip of her hand as she drifted into unconsciousness.

Michael was tempted to ask why it was so important that she risked her life for it.

_12 year old Amanda sat on the couch in her trailer, her eyes glued to the TV while her brother was entertained with his stuffed animals. Their parents were out, probably would be for another few days, which tasked Amanda with keeping her 5 year old brother alive at the very least as she awaited their return._

_She was intently watching the TV, but her ears were listening to her brother, who was quietly mumbling to himself as he played, almost as if he was embarrassed of Amanda making fun of him. If they were normal siblings, she probably would, but his speech impediment made her feel sympathetic and swore to herself that she would never mock him_ _for how he spoke._

_"Mand-ee." Her brother, Steven, slurred._

_"Yeah?" She asked, tearing her eyes away from the TV to look at him._

_He silently creeped up on the couch beside her and held out a stuffed bunny, which she took with caution. He then pulled out another of the same toy and clutched it to his chest, and Amanda did the same in return. Steven grinned and sat himself on her lap, his eyes fluttering closed as he lazily waved his bunny around._

_"If you keep your bunny and I keep mine," he said, "we can be together forever."_

_Forever_.

And as the bunny hovered just above the ground, Amanda's hand wrapped around the head, someone glanced it with a smirk on their face before vanishing.

The Benefactor didn't want to be caught, after all.


	9. INFERNO

**_Rockford Hills Hotel, Los Santos, June of 2015_ **

Amanda was having a boy.

Her and Michael had been to their 20 week scan just a few weeks ago and although they were reluctant to know the gender at first, preferring to wait until birth, curiosity got the better of them and when they received the news, they were overjoyed.

"Have you thought of any names yet?" Michael asked as he ate his breakfast.

They were now temporarily living at Rockford Hills Hotel whilst reparations were made to their house, free of charge thanks to Dave, but even though she had been reassured many times that she was protected here, she had the constant feeling that something was going to go horribly wrong. Whether it was with her or the baby, she didn't know.

"Have _you_?" Amanda fired back as she slid her arms into her FIB jacket.

"Meh, just a few ideas."

"Well come to me when they're better than just 'meh' names."

"Right," Michael said, "you goin'?"

"Yeah, Dave wants my help with something."

Michael nodded and agreed to drive her there since her car was also suffering the consequences of the bomb, having being hit with bricks and a hell of a lot of wood. The car ride was quiet, with Amanda just gazing down at her ever-growing bump whilst Michael kept his eyes on the road and quietly hummed to one of the dad-rock songs playing on the road.

Once Michael parked up, the horrible feeling Amanda got earlier came back, and she considered telling Michael to take her back to the hotel. Her fingertips slowly drifted to her mouth, beginning to chew on her nails, something Michael had never seen her do.

Seriously, the girl was obsessed with manicures and keeping her nails pristine.

"You okay?"

"Yeah," Amanda said as she snapped out of her daze and let her hand drop, "I think."

After a kiss, Amanda and Michael said their goodbyes as she headed into the building. It never took long for her to reach her office, with it being located on one of the lower floors along with Dave and Steve's, and once she reached her office she was surprised to find Dave and Steve lounging about like they owned the place.

"Uhh, can I help you?" She asked, shutting the office door behind her.

"There was a threat made to the office today," Dave cleared his throat, "front desk got a call from an untraceable number earlier saying that everyone's going to die, apparently."

"So why have you brought me here?" Amanda asked.

"Well, if you'd rather hide in the face of a threat, you're more like Michael than I thought." Dave said with a raise of his eyebrow.

"Well yeah but maybe that's just because I'm fucking 5 months pregnant!"

She turned to leave despite Dave's protests, but a series of loud explosions coming from every direction stopped her right in her tracks. Amanda turned to Steve who turned to Dave, and they all gave each other one last confused and panicked look before another, much closer set of explosions occurred and Amanda was out cold.

"Amanda! _Amanda_! For the love of God please don't be dead."

What could've been seconds, hours or months later, Amanda woke up surrounded by orange and flames and smoke. Every part of her body was in pain, it was hard to breathe, and the only thing she could see apart from Dave stood in front of her was an outrageously strong fire. She had blisters running up her neck and up the side of her face, could feel it from where her skin was lifted, and although she really wanted to stand up, the moment she tried her legs just gave out again.

"Shit!" She yelped.

Dave wheezed as he breathed in more smoke, his lungs unable to fight it off much longer. However, he knew he couldn't let Amanda die, partly because she was a good asset to the FIB and mostly because Michael would tear him apart, so with a grunt he wrapped Amanda's arm around his shoulder and stood her up, mustering all his strength to keep her stood as he begun their escape.

"Where's Steve?" She asked, beginning to stumble about as she gained back the feeling in her legs.

"Try not to talk too much," Dave replied as he searched for an escape route, "I'll answer questions when we're out of here!"

Amanda nodded at that and Dave's grip on her gradually slackened as she gained back more of her strength, following closely behind him as they went through a series of corridors that led to the fire exit stairs.

They almost made it to the bottom floor when the stairs suddenly gave way beneath them, sending them both on quite the drop to the bottom floor. Dave was completely winded whilst Amanda had - maybe thankfully, for the sake of the baby - landed on her back, and although she was sobbing in pain, she was just glad it wasn't her stomach that she landed on.

"Come on," Amanda shouted, "we're almost there!"

They found the strength to stand and made a run for the main doors, only to find out that all the glass had shattered and fallen into a mountain right in front of the doors. Amanda was about to make a protest, but Dave just shook his head and led her to a secret trap door behind the front desk. She cautiously followed him down the ladders and through a small tunnel that led to another trap door, and from the amount of shouting she could hear, Amanda could only assume it was outside.

Once Dave managed to hoist her out of the trap door, they were immediately surrounded by lights and sirens and people. Some firefighters, some ambulance, some police, some agents and some looking for their loved ones. Amanda looked for Michael's face amongst the crowd, and let out another sob when she couldn't see him.

"Where is he?" She turned to Dave, "where is my husband?"

"Calm down, he's over there." He replied, pointing to Michael - who was talking to Steve and Trevor - as a series of cough's broke out of his body.

Amanda decided she would see if Dave was okay later, and begun walking over to Michael. Almost like he could sense she was there, he glanced around and when his eyes fell on her, she felt her heart skip in her chest. She was drenched in water from the hosepipes of the firefighters, who were currently in a frenzy, she had blisters and burns running all the way up her neck and face, she could feel the baby kicking and yet the only thing she really cared about was being with Michael.

She collapsed in his arms, clutching him close to her as she coughed and sobbed. He was crying too, she could feel his wet tears soak into her already wet clothes, and he was whispering things in her ear that just made her want to cry more.

After a moment, they finally pulled back and looked at each other, but before Amanda could even open her mouth to speak, Michael leaned in and kissed her.

It took her by surprise, they hadn't had an ' _oh shit I was scared I'd never see you again'_ kiss in a long time, and it completely knocked the breath out of her but she never wanted it to end. She felt his hands drop from her arms to curl into her waist as she lifted her hands to his face, trying to pull him impossibly closer.

"We ain't done that in a long time." Michael said with a small chuckle as he finally pulled back.

"Tell me about it." She smiled, letting out a sigh of relief as she felt the baby kick against her stomach.

"How are you feelin'? Do you need a hospital?" Michael asked, taking Amanda's hand as they begun walking back over to Steve and Trevor.

"Probably, but I'm not going." She replied as she ran her hand up the side of her face, wincing at the feel of the burns.

"Weeeell if it isn't the lady of the hour." Trevor said as they approached.

"Nice to see you too, Trevor."

"Yeah well I've just spent the past half an hour thinking you were dead so forgive me for my foul mood."

"Amanda, good to see that you're alive," Steve said with just a hint of sarcasm in his voice, "You've probably got a thousand questions and I promise they'll be answered as soon as you- ah, go to the hospital."

"I'm good."

"Stubborn as always," He muttered under his breath, "what do you remember?"

"Well I remember telling you I was leaving, then there was explosions and next thing I know I'm in the middle of an inferno."

"Well we don't know who or why they started it, but I managed to get out before it got too bad. I was gonna go back for you and Dave but by the time I'd got emergency services on the scene all the glass shattered."

"Right," Amanda nodded, "well I'm going back to the hotel for a shower and a copious amount of sleep."

Michael agreed he would meet her at the hotel and kissed her on the forehead before she begun heading to the car, but hearing Trevor shouting behind her made her freeze on the spot.

"Amanda! Wait up."

He quickly caught up to her and grabbed her arm before she could walk any further, not enough to hurt but definitely enough to be unescapable.

"What do you want?" She asked.

"Here, take my jacket, doesn't take a genius to know you're cold." He said, shrugging his jacket off and holding it out to her.

"Are you sure?" She asked as she tentatively took the jacket from him.

"Sure, why not." He said, but before Amanda could thank him, he was already heading back to Michael and Steve, who'd now been joined by Dave.

"Well that was weird." Amanda muttered to herself as she put the jacket on and got in the car.

About half an hour after Amanda got back to the hotel, Michael came back. She was sleeping on the bed, still in Trevor's jacket and her soaking wet clothes. The male didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the sight.

"Amanda." Michael said softly, gently shaking her awake.

"Hmm?"

"You might wanna at least get changed before you decide to pass out."

"Oh shit," she sat up, "I didn't realise."

She stood up slowly and went to grab some pyjamas and a towel so she could take a shower, but Michael blocked her path. She stared into his eyes for a minute, silently asking him to move, before he lifted out one of his old shirts that Amanda used to sleep in when they lived back in Ludendorff.

Amanda was surprised he still had it.

"You're crazy if you think I'm still gonna fit into that." She said, gesturing to her bump.

"You're crazy if you think you won't. C'mon, you aren't _that_ big."

Amanda smiled and took the shirt from him, "I think I'm gonna go take that shower now."

"I think I'm gonna join you."

"Not complaining." Amanda said with a cheeky grin as she followed Michael into their en-suite bathroom.

What neither of them cared to remember was that their every move was being followed, and if Amanda thought tonight was bad, it could only get much, much worse.


	10. NO LOVE

**_Rockford Hills Hotel, Los Santos, August of 2015_ **

They had decided to name the baby Roman Townley.

And yes, Amanda knew it was risky giving the baby the former family surname, but Trevor had already found them, they were under constant FIB protection, so they decided to risk it. They had also come to the decision that they were changing their surnames back as well, you know, so the baby didn't grow up wondering why it's surname was so far fetched from the rest of it's family.

The media had already been all over it. Michael De Santa, semi-successful movie producer, and Amanda De Santa, FIB agent, were changing their surnames, but why? Amanda knew it was better not to give answers because people get nosy and before she knew it the entire town would know about Michael's heists and her strip club so as long as they kept quiet about the what's and the why's, they were good.

Restoring the house was almost finished as well, just in time for the baby's due date next month. Tracey had flown back over from college during summer break so she could help Jimmy decorate the baby's room and let their parents enjoy what little spare time they had left before the arrival of the child. The timing couldn't have been any more off, the couple had been through more near-death in the past 8 months than Michael had in his entire life.

Yeah, it was getting that bad.

But they could still only see the baby as a blessing. Because through all the mayhem and uncertainty, they were still going to be rewarded with a beautiful child.

On this particular night, as she lay in bed waiting for Michael to come home from the store, she reflected on this. How life had given her a handful of shit and told her to clap, and even though her husband was the worst of the worst, he had still managed to come through on all the promises he made when they first got together. Even if it was in the most fucked up way, she had still gotten her nice house, nice car, and soon-to-be three children.

"Honey, I'm _hooome_." Michael said in a mocking tone as he kicked the hotel room door shut behind him. 

"I can tell." Amanda chuckled.

Michael set the shopping down on the floor outside their en-suite bathroom and began to undress into his boxers before clambering into bed beside Amanda. It was the middle of August, and even though it was night time it was still 65 degrees out and Michael was hot. He debated kicking the sheets off the bed so he didn't feel any warmer but the glare Amanda was giving him told him not to.

"Okay, okay, I'm not gonna touch 'em." He threw his hands up defensively.

"Good." Amanda said, lifting her arm up so Michael could cuddle up to her.

They laid like this for a good half an hour or so, passing a joint between them that they definitely shouldn't be doing, but the window was open and if the hotel manager had any complaints he could kiss Amanda's ass for all she cared.

What were they gonna do, kick her out? A 8 month pregnant woman with a husband who would definitely kill them? She didn't think so.

"I keep tellin' you not to smoke while you're pregnant." Michael said as he stubbed the joint out in the ashtray that definitely wasn't the top drawer of his bedside table.

"And yet I don't see you stopping me." Amanda fired back as she laid down fully.

"Because you're a fuckin' scary lady when you're angry."

"But you love me." Amanda said with a pout.

"Fuckin' A."

Amanda thought the conversation was gonna stop there, she was definitely up for that whilst she ravelled in her high, but when Michael pulled away from her and propped himself up on his elbow as he turned to face her, she knew he had other plans.

"Mandy?"

"Hmm?" She hummed, mirroring his position.

"Did you ever stop lovin' me? When, y'know..."

"Oh, which time are we talking? When I caught you cheatin' for the first time, when we moved from Ludendorff, when I moved out?"

"Okay okay I get it, just askin'."

"Well your answer is no."

"Oh?"

"There were moments where I questioned it, or definitely loved you less, but I never really stopped loving you. You gave me a life."

Michael didn't really know how to respond to that, so he settled for trailing his fingers up and down her arm.

"I mean, you taught me what love is, y'know? I definitely didn't learn it from my parents." She muttered, her eyes downcast.

"I didn't know what love was either, if that makes you feel better."

"Can I ask you somethin'?" 

"Go ahead."

"The first time you killed someone...what was it like?"

"Ohh so we're doin' a _real_ honesty hour huh," Michael said, "well, I felt bad, if that's what you wanted to hear. He deserved it though, the asshole tried taking advantage of this girl at the strip club you worked at."

"Really?" Amanda sounded surprised.

"Yeah, few years before I met you, actually. Girl was probably only 13 or 14, I mean I had only just turned 18 myself, but it was my birthday and a few of my buddies knew a place that could give me the _real_ birthday treatment."

"Carry on..." Amanda trailed off. She had a funny feeling she knew where this story was going.

"So I'm just walking round back for a smoke, right? There's this girl, couldn't have been older than 14, but she was dressed...like a stripper. Short skirt, short top, makeup done to the nines, right? She was cryin', on the phone to someone, and then this leery-ass old guy comes onto her out of nowhere."

"Right..."

"He's breathin' down her ear, grabs her arm and tries to take her, but I couldn't just watch. So, I picked up a brick and threw it at the guys head."

Amanda's eyes widened.

**_Blitz Strip Club, 1984._ **

_14 year old Amanda was stood in the alley behind the strip club in the middle of a stressful phone call with her father, who wanted her to work more hours while she just wanted to go home. The managers there had already become suspicious of her age and had began questioning her, one of the reasons she wanted to leave in the first place, but her father was persistent and told her if she didn't go back in and work he was gonna come down there and make her._

_As if shit couldn't get any worse, there was some old creepy guy behind her wanting to take her home for a 'good time.' Amanda had already had to deal with this guy a few times, even giving him her true age in an attempt to scare him off, but he was hellbent on getting her home with him and this time he didn't seem like he was taking no for an answer. Amanda put the phone down and this guy grabbed her arm, and just when she thought she was done for, some knight in shining armour saved the day._

_"Hey, buddy!"_

_"Fuck do you want?" The creeper sneered, "hands off, she's mine."_

_"She's a teenager for fucks sake, leave her alone."_

_Amanda's breath hitched in her throat as she felt the creeper's grip become stronger. Tears rolled down her face as the guy began dragging her away, before he stopped. He dropped to the floor with a loud thud and half a brick lodged in his head, with the other half falling to the floor beside him._

_Slowly, she turned around to get a good look of the guy who'd just saved her life. He had midnight black hair with blue eyes and a pointed chin, definitely someone Amanda would've thrown herself at if the circumstances weren't different._

_"Is he dead?"_

_Saviour boy just stared at the body in shock, which answered Amanda's question._

_"Uhh, just don't tell anyone about this, okay? And get the hell outta here, this ain't no place for a young lady like yourself."_

_"Okay," Amanda blushed, "thankyou."_

_"Don't mention it, seriously." Mysterious boy mentioned as he opened the door to go back inside the club._

"Oh my god, that was _you_?" Michael gawked.

Amanda nodded.

"That's fuckin' crazy," he huffed, "see? We were destined to be together."

"Fate sure is a funny thing."

"Why you askin' anyway? Killing people doesn't seem like your thing."

"Because I think it _is_ my thing."

"Fuck are you talking about?"

"Everyone has a darkness, right? Something that creeps in the corner of their mind just waiting to be unleashed. Some let it control them," she gestured to Michael with her free hand, "and some try to contain it."

"Well yeah," Michael said, "I just assumed you didn't have a 'darkness' or whatever you wanna call it."

"Michael, I was abused and forced into being a stripper. It's about as fucked as it gets."

"Right," Michael said, "what's your point?"

"I've always wanted to know what if feels like to kill someone, y'know? What it feels like to had someones life in my hands."

"I can always have it arranged," Michael half joked, "just don't let it consume you. You don't wanna turn out like me, trust me."

"But what if I do?"

"Well," Michael said as he switched the lamp off, "I guess a few lessons are in order."

And as Amanda drifted off to sleep that night, Michael's arm wrapped around her waist as his steady breath brushed her neck, she could've had no idea just how much she was about to be consumed by the very thing she had tried running from her whole life.


	11. DEAR SISTER

**_Vinewood, Los Santos, October of 2015_ **

_"Amanda_ ,

_I know you've been waiting a long time to know who I am. I also know you've been waiting for my demise, but I hate to inform you it isn't going to be that easy. I will wait until you've had that little demon growing inside of you, and then we will talk. Come find me at the foundry._

_I would sign off as the benefactor, but I think we're past that point now, don't you?_

_-Steve Haines, or maybe you'll better know me as: your brother."_

"Are you fuckin' jokin' me, Amanda? Steve Haines is your _brother_? I didn't even know you _had_ a brother!"

"I thought he died!" 

Amanda and Michael had just gotten back from the FIB office when they noticed a letter that was slipped under the door. Amanda got the chance to read it before Michael did, but their reaction was just the same. She was more shocked at the fact that her brother was still alive, but Michael couldn't get over the fact that it was Steve fucking Haines.

And he was the benefactor. Yeah, the guy paying people to kill people. Including his sister, husband and husbands best friends. 

"Well shit what the fuck are we supposed to do now?" Michael asked as he sat on the bed, running his fingers through his short hair.

"Well what can we do," Amanda sat beside him, "apart from wait? This doesn't really change anything, there's nothin' we can do until I've had the baby."

"Yeah..." Michael trailed off, letting his head fall to rest on Amanda's shoulder.

"We should probably call Dave."

"We should _definitely_ call Dave."

But just as Amanda went to dial the number, a sudden burst of wetness between her legs told her that she had much more pressing issues than calling her boss. A contraction left as quickly as it came, making her double over in agony, as she looked at Michael and waved the phone in her hand.

"Are you _okay_?"

Amanda wanted to roll her eyes. He wasn't there for Tracey or Jimmy's birth, so how the fuck is he gonna know what to do now?

"I'm in labour, don't just fucking sit there!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N
> 
> Ooooooo very short chapter today but trust me it's this way for a reason. So, benefactors been revealed, how many of you were expecting that? I tried to hint it towards being Steve when he was tapping away at his phone during the bombings, but all the inserts of Amanda's brother Steven were a big hint as well.
> 
> Steve Haines, Steven, get it? I'm so smart.
> 
> Well, Amanda's in labour now. Hope you're ready for the birth and what comes after bc trust me, it's a doozy. (Is that a word?)
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> -Phoenix.


	12. X•VII•MMXV

**_Strawberry, Los Santos, October of 2015_ **

"Oh my God Michael I'm actually going to fucking die."

Not even an hour after her waters had broke and the contractions had started, Amanda and Michael were in the hospital. Her contraction pains had increased times ten, and the only way she could describe it was that she was getting 'stabbed from the insides'. Michael obviously did his best to comfort her, but having never been to any of his other children's births, he was unsure of what he could do.

So far, he had gone to the store for food four times - food that Amanda knew she couldn't eat but asked for anyway - and gotten her an unbelievable amount of water because she was telling Michael she would die if she didn't have water every 2 seconds.

Whether she was being serious or exaggerating because of her pain, Michael didn't know.

Right now, Amanda was sprawled on her hospital bed, in a hospital gown, picking at the hospital food. She'd kicked all the sheets off the bed because she was too hot, but then five minutes later pulled them back on because she was too cold. Michael was sat on a maybe-comfortable couch beside the bed, dosing in and out of sleep, but Amanda's demands and complaining prevented him from getting more than five minutes of shut eye.

"Michael, I'm so warm." She huffed, kicking the sheets off the bed again.

"Open the window then?" He gestured to the window above him.

"Shut the fuck up." She growled, her eyebrows furrowed.

Michael threw his hands up defensively.

"Are you gettin' an epipen or whatever they call it?"

"An _epidural_ , Michael, and no. I survived the other two without it so I'll be fine."

"Not sure if you're aware, Mandy, you were a lot younger when you had the other two."

"Are you calling me old?" She asked, scowling at him as she leaned back on the bed and let out another huff.

"Of course not, I just-"

"Oh my fucking _GOD_."

Amanda cut Michael off and clutched her stomach as another painful contraction overwhelmed her. She had sweat dripping down her head, her face was scrunched in pain, and Michael felt completely hopeless. She wafted her hand about as if telling Michael to get a nurse, so that's exactly what he did.

"Excuse me, can I get a nurse in here? My wife's about to fuckin' explode." Michael yelled down the hallway before slamming the door shut.

A few minutes later, 2 nurses came in, smiles on their faces, to check Amanda's cervix. They were mumbling things among themselves, things Michael didn't understand, but Amanda's slow nods and long breath in told him everything he needed to know.

"10 centimetres dilated, Amanda. We can start pushing whenever you're ready." The nurse said.

"So I don't need to have a C-section?"

"Neither you or the baby are at risk, but if that's what you'd prefer-"

"Oh god no!" She said, "I think I'd die."

Amanda stretched her hand out for Michael to take, and whereas she usually holds him delicately, it was now more of a death grip. One of the nurses grabbed her other hand, and when another nurse came in to join the one at Amanda's legs, they signalled for her to start pushing.

"When I say go, I want you to breathe out slowly and push at the same time as I count to ten, okay?" The nurse asked.

Amanda nodded slowly and let out a shaky breath, so with her confirmation, the nurses told her to begin pushing. It was slow at first, Amanda's grip on his hand was definitely there but not enough to hurt him, but as the pushing became more intense, Amanda's grip became more prominent.

Her screams echoed through the entire building, wails of pain filling every corridor and room of the hospital.

And then it stopped, and for a short few seconds, only Amanda's heavy breathing could be heard.

Then another cry.

But this time it wasn't Amanda, it was the cry of their baby.

A few hours later, Amanda was sleeping after an eventful morning, whilst Michael just held his child. He couldn't actually quite believe it, how did he create such a small, frail human that was so beautiful?

Roman had the eyes and chin of his father, but the hazel brown hair and thick brows were unmistakably his mothers. Michael had also noticed that his baby shared the same birth mark on his neck that Amanda did, a small brown patch that heavily contrasted his pale skin.

"Is he...can I hold him?" Amanda said as she stirred.

Michael nodded and carefully handed Roman to Amanda, who's face lit up at the sight of her child. Speaking of children, he should probably tell Tracey and Jimmy that they have a baby brother now.

They stayed like this for a while, just handing the child between each other in silence and staring at him because they were scared he'd disappear if they took their eyes away for more than a second. Eventually though, a nurse came in to take the baby to the nursery for weighing and other procedures, so Michael and Amanda just watched with sad eyes as he left. They kind of look like kids who'd just had their candy took away, and now Roman wasn't with them, that's kind of what they felt like.

Michael clambered into the bed beside Amanda once the nurse left, knowing the sullen look on her face meant she wanted comforting. He laid on his back and she carefully put her head on his chest, lulling herself to sleep with the sound of his heartbeat. Michael tentatively put an arm around her and closed his eyes, but couldn't go to sleep whilst feeling so unsettled for no apparent reason.

If Michael had known he had a reason to feel unsettled, he might've held on to his baby, and Amanda, for a lot longer.


	13. MAY THE LORD HAVE MERCY ON YOUR SOUL

**_Strawberry, Los Santos, October of 2015._ **

On October 7th of 2015, Michael and Amanda welcomed Roman Townley into the world, and then lost him.

The nurse? Yeah, she could have never been trusted. Michael still kicks himself to this today for not keeping his wits about him when it came to his baby, because, unsurprisingly, she happened to be someone working for Steve.

How? Or more importantly, why? How did a nurse manage to steal a baby, but more importantly, what did Steve want the baby?

Well one thing was for sure, as soon as an _actual_ nurse came to report the baby as missing, Amanda was up and out of that bed faster than a lion going after its prey. She thundered down the hallway, with Michael following closely behind, still in her hospital gown and a pair of slippers.

"Amanda, chill the fuck out!" Michael yelled as they reached his car parked just outside the hospital doors.

"How can you say that?" Amanda turned to him, tears of anger flowing down her face and ruining the mascara from the day before, "how can you tell me to chill out knowing that my psychotic brother has our fucking _baby_ , Michael!"

"I don't fuckin know, but if we don't take a minute to think and just go guns blazin', we're gonna end up dead! Besides, you aren't even supposed to be out of bed yet."

"I'd rather be dead than my child."

Michael nodded, knowing it was an argument he couldn't win, and opened the car for Amanda to get in. He had heard about mothers being overprotective of their baby, especially when it's first born, but he never knew just to what extent until now. Of course, he was just as angry and scared, but he still knew that it was better to have a level head about this than just using anger as a weapon.

"When I see that asshole I'm gonna rip him apart and I'm gonna make it _hurt_."

Michael raised an eyebrow at her, his hands shaking as he gripped the wheel.

"Well what are you waitin' for? Drive!" Amanda shouted.

"Nu-uh," Michael said, "We ain't going in alone."

"Well fucking call Trevor then! C'mon, we can do this while we're driving."

Michael reluctantly agreed and began the drive to the foundry, making sure to call Trevor on his way. Trevor agreed to help the couple before they even managed to say who the benefactor was, having heard 'baby' and 'kidnapped' in the same sentence.

They parked up outside the Foundry after also calling Lamar, who was reluctant at first but was finally swayed. Amanda may have threatened him, Michael may have questioned how Amanda got his number in the first place, but right now they were questions that didn't need to be answered. They had more pressing issues.

"I can't believe this!" Trevor yelled as he got out of his car with Lamar and approached Amanda and Michael, "How do you lose a fuckin' child?"

"We were tricked!" The couple said at the same time.

"So we gonna creep on this foo' or what?" Lamar asked.

Michael agreed to go through the back entrance with Lamar whilst Amanda and Trevor went through the front. There were a few rogue agents around the back protecting the entrance, and with this being the entrance Steve expected Amanda come through, the front one was completely deserted.

She and Trevor had managed to get all the way to the front room, where it was desolate bar a man with his back turned to them and a wailing baby in his arms. Amanda froze, immediately recognising her sons cry, and when Steve turned around with a fucking gun pressed to the child's head, Trevor had to hold Amanda back from lunging at him.

"Just wait for Michael," Trevor whispered, "he'll be here."

On cue, Michael and Lamar rolled through the door to Amanda's right, a few dead agents rolling in with them. His eyes widened at the sight of a gun pressed to his child's head, but unlike Amanda, he didn't lunge.

"Hello sister," Steve said with a shit-eating grin, "it's been so long."

"How do I know it's really you?" Amanda raised her eyebrow as she steadied her breathing. If she was going to get out of here alive with her child, she was gonna have to play it smart.

"Because I'm the only person who knows your real name."

Amanda _may_ have lied to Michael about her name when they first met. The name might've stuck with her. But once again, it was an issue for another day.

Amanda heard Michael let out a sigh beside her, but she wasn't giving up now. Just because it was really her brother, didn't actually explain what he wanted or why he was trying to kill her child.

"I've brought you here to here today to give you an ultimatum, my dear sister. You see, you ripped everything away from me."

"I was trying to _save_ you!" Amanda spat.

"Oh really? By leaving me, huh? You know how fucking angry they were when you left? I received all the punishment y'know, I was 12 years old! I didn't fucking deserve that."

"I didn't deserve it either!"

"Well that's not the point," Steve said, "make a choice."

"Between what?"

"Oh, it isn't obvious?" Steve chuckled, "Your dear husband, or your child?"

Amanda felt as if the world stopped spinning. Trevor's grip on her arm loosened and without hesitation she lunged for Steve, and in his surprise his grip on the baby slackened. Amanda managed to wrench the baby free of his arms and handed him over to Lamar and Trevor, telling them to leave and get away as far and as fast as possible.

Once they had made their swift exit, Steve let out a low chuckle. "Well, you're quick, sister. But maybe you just aren't quick enough."

Without warning, Steve swiped his leg at Amanda's ankles, knocking her over. She let out a loud groan of pain but scrambled back to her feet, just in time to stop Steve from pressing his gun to her husbands head.

"Michael, go." Amanda said lowly, nodding her head towards the exit as she clenched her knuckles.

"Oh no, he isn't going anywhere." Steve said with a sly grin before elbowing him in the face and knocking him out.

"I am going to kill you." Amanda growled.

"You ain't got the guts." Steve laughed.

Amanda went to kick Steve in the stomach, but the hospital slippers she was wearing weren't really proving to be good fighting material right now. He grabbed her leg and swung her onto the floor, landing on her back with a hard thud. She wanted to let out another scream of pain and just lay here, still hurting from birthing her child, but she knew it wasn't an option.

However, just as she was hopping to her feet, Steve crushed her by jumping on her and sitting all his weight right on her abdomen, just above her uterus. She let out an agonising wail of pain as she felt blood begin to seep from in between her legs, but even as her head began to spin and she felt two strong hands wrap around her neck, she couldn't give up.

"Since you're gonna be so difficult about it, I guess I'm just gonna have to kill you."

Amanda's eyes began spilling tears as her breathing became ragged, vision becoming more and more blurry by the second. She felt the life seeping away from her veins as she muttered things not even Steve could hear, and just when she thought all was lost, as she took what was sure to be her last few breathes, some sort of God must've decided today was her fucking lucky day because Michael woke up.

Because Steve was so endorsed in Amanda, he didn't even realise Michael was awake, not up until Michael knocked him out with a metal pole, anyway. Not even thanking Michael or thanking the lord above that he was awake, Amanda flipped Steve so he was laid on his back and she was on top of him, not caring about the blood from her legs seeping into his shirt. She put her palm out behind her and made grabby hands at Michael for the pole, which he gave her hesitantly.

He was not expecting her to stab him with the pole.

Again.

And again.

And again.

By the 10th time, bearing in mind that Steve was dead by the 3rd, Amanda's face and hospital gown were caked in his blood and yet she couldn't find it in herself to stop. Michael grabbed her shoulders and began pulling her up, but she wrestled against his grip as if her life depended on it. Of course, it was a battle she didn't win, Michael had managed to lock his arms around her torso and keep her held there despite all her leg kicking and shouting to let her go because 'she wasn't finished'.

In silence, he led her out to the car and buckled her in her seat, whilst she just stared forward with that same stone cold expression she had worn for most of her life. Once Michael began to drive, she finally spoke.

"Why did you stop me?" She whispered, using her thumb to wipe away at some of the blood that was drying around her mouth.

"Because he was already dead."

"He tried to take Roman, for fucks sake Michael he's the reason that Franklin's dead and I nearly was twice!" She looked at him as a single tear rolled down her face, "he deserved everything that came to him."

"I know," Michael hummed, putting his hand on Amanda's thigh, "I know."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N
> 
> Welp the benefactors dead and everyones safe, yet there's still two more chapters to go. Hmm, I wonder why?
> 
> Thanks for reading.
> 
> -Phoenix.
> 
> P.S: the third and final book is in the works, should be released by the end of next week.


	14. BACK TO BLACK

**_Vinewood, Los Santos, December of 2015_ **

Two months later, and life for the Townley's were back to normal. Well, as normal as it could get. Michael was juggling life between home and being a movie producer, and after a long discussion with Dave, Amanda had decided to throw in the towel with the FIB.

It wasn't because she spent every day fearing for her life, or because Michael didn't want her working there, it was because she feared she would end up like her brother: a corrupt agent who should really be on the other end of the gun.

After she killed Steve, the darkness she had felt creeping in before was beginning to leave a permanent mark on her brain. All she wanted to do all day every day was kill someone, to feel their warm blood pour down her arms as she strangled the rest of their blood from their slit throat, to hear them beg for their life as they-

"Hey! Are you okay?" Michael asked, clicking his finger in front of Amanda's face.

"Hmm? Oh, I'm fine." She replied.

She brushed past him and up the stairs to settle her now 2 month old son down for a nap, and thankfully he seemed to sleep much easier than Tracey and Jimmy ever had. Her other children would kick up an unnecessary amount of fuss over going to sleep, especially if they could feel Amanda's stress over Michael being out on a job, but now they didn't have that stress? They had a happy baby.

Michael noticed that Amanda seemed to be avoiding him these days. Avoiding even casual conversation with him, avoiding going out on a date with him, avoiding any sexual advances, but he just couldn't understand why. She seemed happy enough, content with looking after her son all day and taking Tracey shopping with money that she'd actually earned, but never seemed to want to speak with him about it.

Just as Amanda was about to go out to the pool, Michael grabbed her wrist.

"Can we talk."

"Not right now," Amanda brushed him off, "I'm going outside."

"No, we need to talk." Michael demanded as he followed her out to the lounging chairs by the pool.

25 years later and he still demanded instead of asked.

"What?" Amanda hissed, "Can't you see I'm busy?"

"What is happening with you lately? Ever since you left the FIB you've been so distant and touchy."

"I don't have to explain everything to you."

"You do when it's making me worried." Michael said quietly, sitting on the lounge chair beside her.

Amanda sighed and placed the book she was just about to read back on the table beside her chair, swinging her legs around so they brushed against her husbands.

"Fine, I'll tell you what's happening."

She sucked in a breath. Michael's fingers grazed hers.

"When the mercenaries came to our house, and I felt that gun press to my head, I felt weak. I couldn't do anything to defend myself. The FIB, especially the training, made me feel like I had some sort of control over my life. People bent at my will, I learned how to fight, and most importantly..."

There was a silence before she spoke again, and when she did, Michael felt his heart crumble.

"I didn't feel bad about killing people."

Michael nodded, unsure of what to say, and let Amanda lean her head on his shoulder. She didn't full out cry, but Michael could feel the few stray tears that did come from her eyes trail from his shoulder and down his arm.

"I have to..." she said between heavy breaths, "I have to stop myself from being reckless every day I wake up, right up until I go to sleep."

"Even with me?"

"You are...different." Amanda said sheepishly as she sat up, giving him a sly grin.

"Oh?"

"It's like, some days I feel like I need to be clinging to you all the time and some days I wanna beat the shit out of you for everything that's happened to me because of you."

"Amanda," Michael chuckled, "I don't know how many times I have to tell you-"

"And then there's the sex."

"Oh god," Michael rubbed his face with his palms, "what have I done wrong now?"

"Don't say that!" Amanda scolded, "the sex is _good_. Better than good, actually."

"So what's you're problem?"

"I want _more_."

" _More_?" Michael gawked.

"You know what?" Amanda smiled, "This is a discussion that we can have later, preferably in bed. I'm gonna go and check on Roman."

"I'm coming!"

Like a pair of school children, they giggled all the way up the stairs to go and check on their sleeping son. Just like she left him, Roman was sound asleep in his crib, his shallow breaths seeming to rebound off of every wall in the room.

Just like with Tracey and Jimmy, the couple's favourite thing to do with their children was to watch them sleep. Amanda and Michael could've easily spent hours staring at Roman, pondering how they could've made such a beautiful baby, but Roman had places to be this afternoon with everyone's favourite uncle: Trevor.

As if on cue, Amanda's phone began to ring in her pocket, disturbing the silence of the room and along with it, Roman's sleep. The wailing started the moment he opened his eyes, but a few gentle sways in Michael's arm soothed him right into relaxation whilst Amanda spoke to Trevor on the phone.

"Trevor, could you have picked worse timing?" Amanda hissed as she put the phone on speaker so Michael could hear.

"Well I'm sorry, _Lady Macbeth_ , but I'm on my way now."

"Lady Macbeth," Amanda mumbled, "that's a new one."

"Well it seems pretty fitting, don't ya think? Power hungry psychopath with a snake husband, and yet you look like an image of beauty and calmness." Trevor sneered.

Michael chuckled lowly as he bounced Roman on his hip.

"Don't make me regret my decision." Amanda huffed.

"Alright, _geez_ , what d'ya have to be so touchy for? I'm pulling up."

Michael handed the baby to Amanda to meet Trevor outside, seen as though the former best friends still weren't on good terms, as he went to the tennis court to set up for a game he and Amanda were playing later.

None of them could've seen all the shadows seeping out of the cracks if they tried. The list of people after Amanda's head was growing a lot longer than they could've ever expected.

Who was on top of that list?

Amanda's father, Peter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N
> 
> Ahh and that's the second book finished! Next chapter will be a epilogue followed by a preface for the next and final book in the series. Thankyou to the bottom of my heart to any of you reading, it means more than you think.
> 
> Thanks for reading,
> 
> -Phoenix.


	15. PREFACE FOR BOOK THREE

**_Vinewood, Los Santos, January of 2016_ **

Amanda smiled as she watch 3 month old Roman roll around on his play-mat. He had just mastered rolling from his back to his stomach and reaching for anything he can grab, but as cheeky as he was getting Amanda just couldn't stop grinning at him.

Of course, Michael was never here to see this, since he was so busy being a movie producer now. She loved him, but _God_ could he never just take a little time of work to spend time with his son?

Speak of the devil, he had just waltzed through to the kitchen with a movie tape in one hand and a wad of cash in the other. Amanda raised her brow but didn't say anything, instead choosing to tilt her head towards their son who was laughing at himself trying to grab one of the toys suspended above him on the mat.

Roman was a daddy's boy, it didn't take a genius to figure that out. Just like Jimmy used to, Roman's face would light up at the sight of his father and would make grabby hands for him, an affection Michael was all willing to accept.

Michael picked the baby up and cooed at him, blowing raspberries onto his head as he walked into the kitchen. Roman was in fits of giggles, and was just about to reach out for Amanda before her phone began to ring and it startled him, so he just buried his small head in Michael's chest.

Amanda grumbled and rolled her eyes before looking at her phone, eyes squinting into an annoyed look as she didn't recognise the number. She looked at her husband who just shrugged and walked around the counter to kiss her cheek before he headed upstairs to lay Roman down for a nap, and whilst Amanda wanted to ignore the phone, it just kept _ringing_.

"Are you gonna get that?" Michael asked as he strolled back through the kitchen and pulled a chair out from the island.

"I don't have much of a choice do I?" Amanda huffed.

She slid her thumb across her phone screen and put the caller on speaker, and for a moment it was just muffled noise and distant laughter before a voice finally came through, and when it did, Amanda felt her heart drop.

"Hello Monica, or is it Amanda now?" Her father's voice came through the other end, "I think it's time we had a chat, don't you?"


End file.
